Marriage, home-ownership, and the trials and tribulations of nursing school and career-building in Northern California

Beach Day

We’ve had a steady stream of family visiting the last few weeks. P’s brother came before we went to Oregon, then his mom and stepdad were here last week, and his dad will be here next week. And of course my parents sneak in visits whenever they can. Hatch is getting a lot of grandparent love. This last weekend we went with my parents to Marin to take advantage of the amazing weather we’ve been having.

The last few times I’ve been to Marin it’s been insanely busy, so I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived in the Point Reyes area and realized it was kind of dead. Maybe because kids are back to school? My dad also theorized that it was because it was a big sports day (Cal, Giants, and 49ers). Regardless, it made the day much more enjoyable.

By the time we got to the Point Reyes area we were starving so we started the day at Hog Island. The oyster places in Tamales are great because you can either bring all of your own stuff or buy theirs. We went the easy route this time and bought pre-shucked oysters, but we’d picked up other picnic supplies at Farmers Market on Saturday. The tables are communal and I think our table mates were jealous of our spread. We did offer to share!

One of the other benefits of eating at Hog Island, is that the beaches in Marin are often very windy. Wind plus beach equals sandy, gross food. So it was nice to get the eating done with somewhere where we could see the water without actually having to sit in it.

After lunch we headed to Drakes Beach, part of the Point Reyes National Seashore. We used to go to this beach all the time as a kid. Probably more than any other beach we visited. As an adult, I’ve stopped in the parking lot here several times, only to drive somewhere else because it seemed way, way too windy. I didn’t get how we’d enjoyed it so much as a kid, and when my parents suggested it I was a little skeptical. But I’m going to let you in on a secret (luckily there aren’t too many of you). If you head either down or up the beach from the parking lot, the wind is magically gone.

There are a ton of cute pictures of my parents holding Hatch from the day, but these are my favorite…

His onesie wasn’t snapped on the bottom and my mom had tucked it in because she didn’t want him looking sloppy in the picture, but by accident tucked his hand in too. She didn’t realize it until after I took the top two pictures.

I go back to school in two weeks (ugghhhhhhh), so I’m trying to enjoy the end of summer as much as possible. We have a lot going on the next few weeks, and believe me I need the distraction. I am trying not to think too hard about being away from Hatch several days a week. Although I am excited about my actual program, the thought of being away from Hatch makes me really bummed out.